Thomas J. Whitmore
| residence = | education = | affiliation = | profession = President of the United States | father = | mother = | siblings = | marital = Widowed | spouse = Marilyn Whitmore | children = Patricia Whitmore | sigothers = | others = | actor = Bill Pullman | firstseen = Independence Day | lastseen = Independence Day: Resurgence | appearances = 2 films | image2 = | caption2 = Thomas J. Whitmore (1996) }} Thomas J. Whitmore (born 1953) is an American politician who served in the Gulf War before going into politics. He served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was a major figure in leading the United States through the War of 1996. Biography Background Thomas Whitmore fought in the Gulf War as a fighter pilot and later took an interest in politics. He was eventually elected as President in 1992, beginning his first term in January 1993, because of his war experience, as well as his hopeful youth. Presidency During his first years in office, he had introduced major legislative initiatives to reform everything from the legal system to health care to the environment. However, these programs had been stalled by committees and lawmakers. Against the advice of his advisers, Whitmore spent most of his time and energy shepherding his bills though the process, allowing himself to be bogged down by first-term representatives, which he was often forced to make favors with policymakers to achieve his policies.Independence Day: Official Novelization As a result, he was openly attacked by the media for his inexperience in politics and meek outlook, and his popularity plummeted. War of 1996 In July 2, 1996, Whitmore was discussing with his press adviser Constance Spano regarding on his damaged public image until he received a phone call from Secretary of Defense Albert Nimziki informing him about the arrival of the alien visitors. As Whitmore tries to lead his nation through this dire event in what became known as the War of 1996, he chose to stay in Washington, D.C. rather than to evacuate with his Vice President and Joint Chiefs of Staff to NORAD in order to address and calm the American public. When attempting to establish communication with the City Destroyer over Washington, Whitmore was warned by David Levinson that the aliens came to Earth with hostile intentions. Levinson's warning was confirmed when the City Destroyer vaporized the helicopters that attempted to make contact. Whitmore then immediately issued a large-scale evacuation order in the targeted cities, but his orders were too late as the aliens destroyed the cities. Whitmore, his daughter Patricia, Levinson, and his staff narrowly escaped the destruction of Washington on Air Force One. The aftermath deeply affected Whitmore, who lamented for his indecision to prepare for the aliens' hostility from the beginning, and believing that his wife to be among the dead. Whitmore later oversee a military counterattack against the aliens. However, the counterattack was an abysmal failure as the alien ships were equipped with energy shields that repels any sort of damage. The aliens retaliated by destroying many U.S. military installations, including NORAD where the Vice President and Joint Chiefs of Staff were killed. Following the failed counterattack, Whitmore was urged by Nimziki to order a nuclear attack against the aliens. A suggestion that Whitmore was hesitant of having nuclear weapons deployed on American soil. An argument ensued between Whitmore, his staff, and David Levinson until the latter's father, Julius Levinson, interrupted and accused the President and his advisors of having previously known of alien life by basing on the Roswell incident and Area 51. Whitmore was humored by Julius' accusation, but Nimziki admits to him that these were true. Nimziki informed Whitmore that the government had knew about the aliens since 1947 and had contained an alien ship and its deceased occupants in Area 51, but the President was kept deliberately ignorant of this discovery. Whitmore had Air Force One land at Area 51, where he meets Dr. Brackish Okun, the chief scientist of Area 51. After learning what Dr. Okun knew about the aliens, Whitmore assigned David Levinson to help Area 51's research staff to come up with a way to defeat the invaders. During that day, an alien was captured and taken to Area 51. Whitmore intended to have the creature interrogated, but it managed to escape and took control of Dr. Okun to communicate with Whitmore. Whitmore demanded what its kind want in which the alien launched a psychic attack against him. Whitmore saw the creature's memories and learned that the aliens act like locusts, attacking planet to planet while consuming their natural resources at the cost of annihilating entire civilizations - in which Earth is the most recent target. After the captured alien was killed by his security detail, Whitmore reluctantly authorizes a nuclear attack. But an attempt on a City Destroyer over Houston failed to penetrate, in which Whitmore realized the futility and immediately called off the attack. Whitmore was later relieved that Marilyn was alive; the First Lady, barely alive, was founded in El Toro with several other survivors and taken to Area 51 by Captain Steven Hiller. However, Whitmore learned that his wife suffered from internal bleeding and will soon die. Whitmore had one last moment with Marilyn before comforting his daughter. On July 4, Whitmore learned from David Levison that he finally devised a plan to defeat the aliens is by disabling their shields via infiltrating the alien mothership with Area 51's captured ship and upload a computer virus into their system; allowing an ample amount of time to coordinate a global counterattack against the aliens. Whitmore accepted David's plan and decided to personally participate in the counterattack as a fighter pilot. But before he does so he delivers his famous motivational speech to the men and women in the upcoming battle. Once the shields were successfully brought down, Whitmore leads in the defense of Area 51 from a City Destroyer and teams up with fellow pilot Russell Casse to provide him cover fire while Casse prepares to fire the last remaining missile at the alien ship's main weapon. After Casse's missile failed to fire, he sacrificed himself by flying into the ship's weapon and setting off a chain reaction that brought it down. Once the City Destroyers were brought down when David and Hiller destroyed the mothership with a nuclear warhead, Whitmore waited on a response from them, but the radio operators have not heard from them since the shields went down. Almost immediately they receive a ping on radar and head out to check it out where they greeted Hiller and David in the outskirts of Area 51. Post-War Whitmore was reelected for a second term as president following his leadership in the War of 1996, and he remained a popular figure in both his country and the whole world long after his term ended in 2001. He was a proponent of the Earth Space Defense initiative, which he also appointed David Levinson as the ESD's civilian director, and convinced William Grey to run for president.Independence Day: Crucible In 2016, as the world prepared to celebrate the war's 20th anniversary, President Elizabeth Lanford began the celebrations by unveiling a commissioned portrait of Whitmore to honor his 'valor and leadership to unite the world and lead humanity from its darkest day to a brighter future.' Gallery ''Independence Day'' ScreenShotnnn022.jpg ScreenShot042.jpg ScreenShot0kkk90.jpg ScreenShot095.jpg ScreenShot04jj1.jpg ScreenShbhhot075.jpg ScreenShotmm068.jpg ScreenSgghot015.jpg ScreenShot013.jpg ScreenShot008,.jpg Scre menShot006.jpg ScreenShv3.jpg ''Independence Day: Resurgence'' WhitmorePortrait 2400x3000.jpg|Thomas Whitmore's Official Presidential Portrait. Memorable Quotes Behind the Scenes *Thomas Whitmore was originally intended to be a Richard Nixon-like figure. The role was originally written for Kevin Spacey, co-writer Dean Devlin's friend from high school. An executive at Fox refused to cast Spacey, insisting he didn't have the potential to be a big star. The part was re-written and Bill Pullman was then cast in the role. *Thomas Whitmore's participation in the final battle against the aliens would have been the first U.S. commander-in-chief to lead troops into combat since James Madison took command of a rearguard artillery battery to cover the retreat of the U.S. Army during the British attack on Washington, DC, in 1814. *To prepare for his role, Bill Pullman read The Commanders by Bob Woodward and watched the documentary film The War Room.Aberly and Engel 1996, p. 32. *Bill Pullman used the memory of a decayed tooth which was pulled from his mouth in order to come up with a terrified expression when speaking with the alien invaders. *Bill Pullman's speech was filmed on 6 August 1995 in front of an old airplane hangar in Wendover Airport. The hangar once housed the Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima exactly 50 years earlier on 6 August 1945. *Bill Pullman's final words in his "Independence Day" speech was ad-libbed. * The novelization of Independence Day establishes Whitmore as a young senator from Chicago prior to becoming President. Appearances *''Independence Day (novel)'' *''Independence Day'' *''Independence Day: Crucible'' *''Independence Day: Resurgence'' References Category:American military personnel Category:Americans Category:Characters Category:Independence Day Category:Independence Day: Resurgence Category:Males Category:Pilots Category:Presidents of the United States Category:Independence Day: Crucible characters